A connector assembly has a first connector, a second connector matable with the first connector along a mating direction, a mating assistance mechanism, a mating maintenance mechanism, and a detection mechanism. The mating maintenance mechanism includes a stopper, an engagement portion and an elastic support. The engagement portion is configured to be engaged with the stopper in a mating state of the first connector and the second connector so as to maintain the mating state. The detection mechanism is operable to detect the mating state and includes a short-circuit member and first and second terminals having first and second contacting sections, respectively, extending along the mating direction. The short-circuit member is arranged to establish a short circuit between the first terminal and the second terminal in the mating state.
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1. A connector assembly comprising a first connector, a second connector matable with the first connector along a mating direction, a mating assistance mechanism, a mating maintenance mechanism, and a detection mechanism,
wherein the mating assistance mechanism has an operation member and is operable to mate the second connector with the first connector in accordance with an operation of the operation member,
wherein the mating maintenance mechanism includes a stopper, an engagement portion and an elastic support,
wherein the engagement portion is configured to be engaged with the stopper in a mating state of the first connector and the second connector so as to maintain the mating state,
wherein the elastic support is configured to support the engagement portion, the elastic support being elastically deformed and moving the engagement portion along a direction different from the mating direction when the second connector is mated with the first connector,
wherein the detection mechanism is operable to detect the mating state and includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and a short-circuit member,
wherein the first terminal has a first contacting section extending along the mating direction,
wherein the second terminal has a second contacting section extending along the mating direction, and
wherein the short-circuit member is arranged to establish a short circuit between the first terminal and the second terminal in the mating state, the short-circuit member having a first contact and a second contact which are brought into contact with the first contacting section and the second contacting section in the mating state, respectively, the first contact being directly/indirectly moved by movement and elastic deformation of the elastic support so that the first contact wipes the first contacting section during a mating operation of the first connector and the second connector, the second contact wiping the second contacting section independently of the elastic deformation of the elastic support during the mating operation.
2. The connector assembly according to
3. The connector assembly according to
wherein each of the first contacting section and the second contacting section has a rectangular cross-section on a plane perpendicular to the mating direction,
wherein the first contacting section and the second contacting section are arranged in a vertical direction perpendicular to the mating direction, and
wherein the first contact and the second contact are configured to wipe side surfaces of the first contacting section and the second contacting section, respectively.
4. The connector assembly according to
wherein the short-circuit member includes a first arm elastically supporting the first contact and a second arm elastically supporting the second contact,
wherein the first arm has a pressure receiver portion pressed by the elastic support when the elastic support is elastically deformed, and
wherein the first contact is moved on a horizontal plane perpendicular to the vertical direction when the pressure receiver portion is pressed by the elastic support.
5. The connector assembly according to
wherein the second connector has a housing,
wherein the operation member comprises a lever provided on the second connector, the lever being rotatable on a horizontal plane parallel to the mating direction,
wherein the mating assistance mechanism is configured to mate the second connector with the first connector by rotating the lever when the second connector is tentatively mated with the first connector,
wherein the stopper is provided on the second connector,
wherein the engagement portion and the elastic support are formed integrally with the lever, and
wherein the short-circuit member is held by the housing.
6. The connector assembly according to
wherein the pressure receiver portion includes a first pressure receiver and a second pressure receiver,
wherein the elastic support includes a first presser and a second presser,
wherein the first presser is operable to press the first pressure receiver and moves the first contact away from the first contacting section during only a first period that is part of the operation of rotating the lever,
wherein the second presser is operable to press the second pressure receiver and moves the first contact away from the first contacting section during only a second period that is part of the operation of rotating the lever and partially overlaps the first period, and
wherein the first contact is brought into contact with the first contacting section when the engagement portion engages with the stopper after the second presser presses the second pressure receiver.
7. The connector assembly according to
wherein the each of the first presser and the second presser has an island shape projecting from the elastic support in the vertical direction,
wherein the second presser is located closer to the engagement portion as compared to the first presser,
wherein the short-circuit member further includes a first support and a second support, the second support extending from the first arm on a horizontal plane parallel to the mating direction,
wherein the first pressure receiver and the second pressure receiver are elastically supported by the first support and the second support, respectively,
wherein the first pressure receiver is located closer to a mating portion of the second connector and the first connector as compared to the second pressure receiver,
wherein the first presser is configured to move in a first path according to rotation of the lever during the mating operation, the first path is a path in accordance with which the first presser passes between the second pressure receiver and the first arm, press the first pressure receiver on the horizontal plane and then move away from the first pressure receiver, and
wherein the second presser is configured to move in a second path similar to a path of the engagement portion, the second path is a path in accordance with which the second presser starts to press the second pressure receiver before the first presser separates from the first pressure receiver.
8. The connector assembly according to
wherein the first contact is moved from an initial vertical position along the vertical direction in response to movement of the second pressure receiver in the vertical direction and is then moved back to the initial position when the engagement portion engages with the stopper so that the first contact wipes the first contacting section.
9. The connector assembly according to
wherein each of the first contacting section and the second contacting section has a rectangular cross-section on a plane perpendicular to the mating direction,
wherein the first contacting section and the second contacting section are arranged in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the mating direction,
wherein the first contact is configured to wipe a side surface of the first contacting section, and
wherein the second contact is configured to wipe a lower surface or an upper surface of the second contacting section.
10. The connector assembly according to
wherein the elastic support supports the engagement portion so that the engagement portion is movable on a vertical plane perpendicular to the horizontal direction,
wherein the short-circuit member includes a first arm elastically supporting the first contact and a second arm elastically supporting the second contact,
wherein the first arm has a pressure receiver portion pressed by the elastic support during the elastic support is elastically deformed, and
wherein the first contact is moved on the vertical plane when the pressure receiver portion is pressed by the elastic support.
11. The connector assembly according to
wherein the operation member comprises a lever provided on the second connector, the lever being rotatable on a horizontal plane parallel to the mating direction,
wherein the mating assistance mechanism is configured to mate the second connector with the first connector by rotating the lever when the second connector is tentatively mated with the first connector,
wherein the stopper is provided on the second connector,
wherein the engagement portion and the elastic support are formed integrally with the lever, and
wherein the short-circuit member is held by the lever.
12. The connector assembly as recited in
wherein the second connector has a housing,
wherein the operation member comprises a slider which is held on the housing so as to be movable on a horizontal plane perpendicular to the mating direction,
wherein the mating assistance mechanism is configured to mate the second connector with the first connector by moving the slider when the second connector is tentatively mated with the first connector,
wherein the stopper is provided on the slider,
wherein the engagement portion and the elastic support are provided on the housing, and
wherein the short-circuit member is held by the housing.
13. The connector assembly as recited in
wherein the first contact is configured to wipe the first contacting section along a vertical direction perpendicular to the mating direction.
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Applicants claim priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of Japanese Patent Application No. JP2009-171594 filed Jul. 22, 2009.
The present invention relates to a connector assembly having a mating assistance mechanism using a lever or a slider for mating two connectors with each other, and more particularly to a connector assembly having a detection mechanism operable to accurately detect a mating state of two connectors.
For example, a connector assembly having a detection mechanism operable to detect a mating state of two connectors is disclosed in JP-B 3666087 (Patent Document 1), JP-B 3284200 (Patent Document 2), and JP-A 2008-108467 (Patent Document 3). The connector assembly has a mating maintenance mechanism operable to maintain the mating state of the two connectors. The mating maintenance mechanism includes an engagement portion and a lock arm (elastic support) provided on one of the connectors and a stopper provided on the other connector. When the connectors are mated with each other, the lock arm is momentarily bent and then returned to the original state. At that time, the engagement portion engages with the stopper, so that the mating state of the connectors is maintained. The detection mechanism includes two terminals and a short-circuit member for developing a short circuit between the two terminals. The two terminals are provided on the connector that includes the stopper. The short-circuit member is provided on the lock arm near the engagement portion. When the connectors are mated with each other, the lock arm is momentarily bent and then returned to the original state. At that time, the short-circuit member develops a short circuit between the two terminals, so that a mating state of the connector is detected. However, this connector assembly has no function of wiping contacting portions between the terminals and the short-circuit member. Accordingly, a contact failure may arise due to the contamination of the terminals or the like.
In contrast, JP-B 3596702 (Patent Document 4) and JP-A 8-241761 (Patent Document 5) disclose a connector assembly with a detection mechanism having a wiping function. In either case, the connector assembly has a short-circuit member provided near an engagement portion of a lock arm, and the short-circuit member is brought into contact with terminals in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the engagement portion supported by the lock arm moves. For example, in a case where the engagement portion moves on the vertical plane parallel to a mating direction, the short-circuit member is brought into contact with the terminals in the horizontal direction. In the connector assembly disclosed in Patent Documents 4 and 5, the width of the short-circuit member in the horizontal direction is set to be greater than the distance between the terminals in the horizontal direction. Thus, when two connectors are mated with each other, the wide short-circuit member is inserted into a narrow space defined between the terminals. Accordingly, the terminals are wiped by the friction produced between the short-circuit member and the terminals.
As in the connector assembly of Patent Document 4 or 5, a considerable insertion force is required to insert a relatively wide short-circuit member into a relatively narrow space between terminals. This insertion force employs a restoring force of the lock arm. When the connector assembly is reduced in size and height, the restoring force of the lock arm may also be reduced. If the restoring force of the lock arm is reduced, it may be impossible to press (or insert) the short-circuit member between the terminals. In such a case, movement of the engagement portion is inhibited, so that the mating maintenance mechanism does not work.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly capable of wiping terminals of a detection mechanism without inhibiting a function of a mating maintenance mechanism.
One aspect of the present invention provides a connector assembly which has a first connector, a second connector matable with the first connector along a mating direction, a mating assistance mechanism, a mating maintenance mechanism, and a detection mechanism. The mating assistance mechanism has an operation member and is operable to mate the second connector with the first connector in accordance with an operation of the operation member. The mating maintenance mechanism includes a stopper, an engagement portion and an elastic support. The engagement portion is configured to be engaged with the stopper in a mating state of the first connector and the second connector so as to maintain the mating state. The elastic support is configured to support the engagement portion. The elastic support is elastically deformed and moves the engagement portion along a direction different from the mating direction when the second connector is mated with the first connector. The detection mechanism is operable to detect the mating state and includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and a short-circuit member, The first terminal has a first contacting section extending along the mating direction. The second terminal has a second contacting section extending along the mating direction. The short-circuit member is arranged to establish a short circuit between the first terminal and the second terminal in the mating state. The short-circuit member has a first contact and a second contact which are brought into contact with the first contacting section and the second contacting section in the mating state, respectively. The first contact is directly/indirectly moved by movement and elastic deformation of the elastic support so that the first contact wipes the first contacting section during a mating operation of the first connector and the second connector. The second contact wipes the second contacting section independently of the elastic deformation of the elastic support during the mating operation.
An appreciation of the objectives of the present invention and a more complete understanding of its structure may be had by studying the following description of the preferred embodiment and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
A connector assembly according to embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to
As shown in
Referring to
Referring to
As shown in
As can be seen from
As shown in
When the lever 300 is rotated, the lock arm 310 is bent (elastically deformed) by abutment of the engagement portion 320 against a side surface of the stopper 240 until the second connector 200L or 200R has been mated with the first connector 100. Once the second connector 200L or 200R has been mated with the first connector 100, the engagement portion 320 moves frontward (toward the mating portion 202) beyond the stopper 240. This movement releases the bending of the lock arm 310 and thereby recovers the state of the lock arm 310. Furthermore, this recovery of the lock arm 310 moves the engagement portion 320 to a position at which the engagement portion 320 can engage with the stopper 240. At that time, the engagement portion 320 is moved in a direction different than the Y-direction (mating direction). The aforementioned configuration of the engagement portion 320 prevents the rotation of the lever 300 in a direction to separate the second connector 200L or 200R from the first connector 100 because the engagement portion 320 engages with the stopper 240. In order to separate the second connector 200L or 200R from the first connector 100, the arm operation section 314 is operated so as to release the engagement of the engagement portion 320 and the stopper 240 and to rotate the lever 300.
As shown in
As can be seen from
The second arm 430 and the second contact 432 will be described in detail. An initial position of the second contact 432 is determined such that the second contact 432 interferes with the second contacting section 134 when the first connector 100 and the second connector 200L are mated with each other. Accordingly, the second contact 432 is slid on the second contacting section 134 when the first connector 100 and the second connector 200L are being mated with each other. Thus, the second contacting section 134 is wiped by the second contact 432. In this embodiment, since the second contact 432 is slid on a side surface 134s of the second contacting section 134, it is the side surface 134s of the second contacting section 134 that is wiped.
The short-circuit member 400 of this embodiment includes a first support 442 and a second support 446 extending away from the first arm 420 on the XY-plane. The short-circuit member 400 also includes a first pressure receiver 444 elastically supported by the first support 442 and a second pressure receiver 448 elastically supported by the second support 446. As can be seen from
In this embodiment, the first pressure receiver 444 is pressed by the first presser 332, and the second pressure receiver 448 is pressed by the second presser 334. In this embodiment, the first contact 422 is connected to the first pressure receiver 444 and the second pressure receiver 448 via the first support 442, the second support 446, and the first arm 420. Therefore, the first contact 422 is moved when the first pressure receiver 444 or the second pressure receiver 448 is pressed. Pressing of the first pressure receiver 444 and the second pressure receiver 448 by the first presser 332 and the second presser 334 are carried out in cooperation with movement and elastic deformation of the lock arm 310 caused by rotation of the lever 300.
Specifically, the first presser 332 moves the first contact 422 away from the first contacting section 124 during a first period, which is part of operation of rotation of the lever 300. The second presser 334 moves the first contact 422 away from the first contacting section 124 during a second period, which is part of operation of rotation of the lever 300. The second period starts after the first period has started and partially overlaps the first period.
In order to meet such operational conditions, the first presser 332 and the second presser 334 of this embodiment are configured as follows. According to rotation of the lever 300 for mating the second connector 200 with the first connector 100, the first presser 332 passes between the second pressure receiver 448 and the first arm 420, then presses the first pressure receiver 444 on the XY-plane, and moves away from the first pressure receiver 444. Meanwhile, the second presser 334 moves along a path similar to that of the engagement portion 320 and then starts to press the second pressure receiver 448 before the first presser 332 separates from the first pressure receiver 444.
When the lever 300 is rotated in the state shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
When the lever 300 is rotated in a state in which the second pressure receiver 448 is pressed only by the second presser 334, the engagement portion 320 is slid on a side surface of the stopper 240 and moved beyond the stopper 240 in the Y-direction. Then, as shown in
As described above, when the second connector 200 is mated with the first connector 100, the second contact 432 is slid on the second contacting section 134 and is thus electrically connected to the second contacting section 134. On the other hand, the first contact 422 is not connected to the first contacting section 124 until the second connector 200 has been mated with the first connector 100. In other words, the first contact 422 is electrically connected to the first contacting section 124 only when the second connector 200 has been mated with the first connector 100. Accordingly, the short-circuit member 400 develops a short circuit between the first terminal 120 and the second terminal 130 only when the second connector 200 has been mated with the first connector 100. Therefore, a mating state can be detected by monitoring a state of the first terminal 120 and the second terminal 130.
As described above, in the connector assembly of this embodiment, the first pressure receiver 444 and the second pressure receiver 448 are respectively pressed by the first presser 332 and the second presser 334 in cooperation with movement and elastic deformation of the lock arm 310. When the pressure receiver portion 440 (the first pressure receiver 444 and the second pressure receiver 448) is thus pressed by the presser portion 330 (the first presser 332 and the second presser 334), the first contact 422 wipes the first contacting section 124. Meanwhile, no pressure receiver portion 440 is provided on the second arm 430 on which the second contact 432 is provided. Therefore, the second contact 432 wipes the second contacting section 134 not depending upon movement and elastic deformation of the lock arm 310, but depending upon the mating state of the second connector 200L with the first connector 100. Thus, according to the present embodiment, movements of the two contacts of the short-circuit member 400 are controlled by different methods. Therefore, the wide short-circuit member does not need to be inserted into a narrow space between the terminals, unlike Patent Documents 4 and 5. Accordingly, the first terminal 120 (the first contacting section 124) and the second terminal 130 (the second contacting section 134) of the detection mechanism can reliably be wiped without inhibiting functions of the mating maintenance mechanism.
Particularly, in a case of a connector assembly in which the lock arm 310 is bent on the horizontal plane, an increase of the size of the connector is prevented by separating the presser portion 330 into two elements including the first presser 332 and the second presser 334, similarly separating the pressure receiver portion 440 into two elements including the first pressure receiver 444 and the second pressure receiver 448, and moving the first contact 422 through cooperation of those elements.
A connector assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
With the above configuration, the second contact 532 is slid on the lower surface 134′b of the second contacting section 134′ by operation of closing the lever 300′. Thus, the second contact 532 can wipe the lower surface 134′b of the second contacting section 134′. The first contact 522 can wipe the side surface 124′s of the first contacting section 124′ along the Z-direction with deformation and recovery of the lock arm 310′.
A connector assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
Referring to
Referring to
As shown in
Referring to
The slider 600 has two notches of a first notch 620 and a second notch 630. The first notch 620 is located between the two cam portions 610. The second notch 630 is located outside of the two cam portions 610.
The first notch 620 is configured such that the guide portions 224 communicate with entries of the cam portions 610 when the engagement portion 320″ is positioned within the first notch 620 (see
As can be seen from comparison of
When a mating operation is performed using the slider 600, the first contacting section 124″ of the first terminal 120″ and the second contacting section 134″ of the second terminal 130″ are moved onto the short-circuit member 700 along the Y-direction as shown in
Thus, in either of the embodiments, two contacts provided on a short-circuit member are separately controlled in movement. Therefore, the detection mechanism can have a wiping function without any problems that would be caused in the prior art.
In the present invention, a short-circuit member is brought into contact with two terminals in different methods. Specifically, a contact of the short-circuit member is moved in cooperation with elastic deformation of an elastic support (lock arm), so that the short-circuit member is brought into contact with one of the terminals. Another contact of the short-circuit member is brought into contact with the other terminal by movement that is independent of elastic deformation (e.g., mating operation itself). With such configuration, no insertion force is required to insert the short-circuit member between the terminals (cf. Patent Documents 4 and 5). Thus, according to the present invention, terminals of a detection mechanism can be wiped while a mating maintenance mechanism properly functions.
The present application is based on a Japanese patent application of JP2009-171594 filed before the Japan Patent Office on Jul. 22, 2009, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
While there has been described what is believed to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such embodiments that fall within the true scope of the invention.
Yamamoto, Yoshiharu, Ohno, Akira, Todo, Nobuhisa, Hamaoka, Yuji
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Jul 13 2010 | HAMAOKA, YUJI | Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024769 | /0872 | |
Jul 13 2010 | YAMAMOTO, YOSHIHARU | Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024769 | /0872 | |
Jul 20 2010 | Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / |
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